Forever Following Behind, No More
by maskedgoomba
Summary: Sasuke's abandonment of Leaf sends shockwaves through the village. Some find it amusing, some don't care. But others... like Sakura, are deeply crushed. But how crushed is she? And what is she going to do about it?
1. A Promise to the Morning Sky

**Forever Following Behind, No More**

**Disclaimer: **I digress I don't own Naruto, however I like writing about it. Don't read if you don't want to be spoiled.

**Summary: **A deeply despaired Sakura makes a promise to herself.

**Chapter 1: **A Promise to the Morning Sky

_"I love you with all my heart! If you were to stay here me... there would be no regrets... because everyday, we'd do something fun. We'd be happy, I swear! I would do anything for you so... please... just stay with me..."_

**Volume 21: Chapter 181**

Several hours later, Sakura lay on the cold bench near the village gates, looking at the dawn red morning sky.

He must have hit the spine. Sakura's brain was aware of her surroundings, but her body felt nothing: neither the cold chill of morning air, nor the jagged feel of the pebble stones bench on her back... nothing. Her entire body was numb.

She remembered her words-- her pleas to Sasuke... how could she forget anything about that night? Everything was indelibly seared in her memories, never to disappear or be forgotten. The utter desperation she felt... The moonless night... his stone-set face... his blank stare... and his final cruel words...

_Sakura... thank you..._

His final words-- he might as well have ripped out her heart and squashed it under the sole of his feet. It was a self-delusion, but it was a little comforting to know that Sasuke-kun rejected her because he was simply ignorant of her feelings-- that perhaps he himself didn't believe her love for him was completely genuine. That in some small part of her mind, she believed that if she could just prove to Sasuke-kun how much he is cared for, how genuine her love really is... Sasuke-kun would finally grant her admission past his walls, his insurmountable walls...

But she was under no such delusion now. Sasuke-kun's final words proved he wasn't ignorant of her feelings for him all. Far from ignorant... he _knew_, and he merely thanked her for it. He acknowledged her feelings and left anyway.

Her vows, her love, her everything, just wasn't enough to keep him... 

She wasn't enough... 

She was completely useless...

But as despair ran through her heart, new feeling returned to her limbs. She could feel the early morning chill on her arms as they prickled with the familiar feeling of goosebumps.

She tried to scream for help-- for someone to come help her, but her voice was still lost. But after thinking for a moment, she wondered why should she bother calling for help in the first place. If she couldn't convince Sasuke-kun to stay, what were the chances someone else could bring him back? Despite the moments she felt completely ignored by Sasuke-kun, she knew for a fact that out of the whole village, no one, besides Naruto, was closer to Sasuke-kun than her...

If anyone had a chance of getting Sasuke-kun to return, it had to be her.

The sun itself began to rise gently from behind the mountains it had descended behind the previous night before; it's gentle rays of light peeking over the mountaintops, bathing Sakura, warming her, giving root to a new sense of resolve in her heart.  She felt the feeling of her limbs returning; spreading from the tips of her fingers, then washing slowly through her arm. Yes, if anyone were to be able to retrieve Sasuke, it was her.

Steeling herself from the dull pain of lingering numbness, she clenched her left hand into a fist.

If her love is not enough for Sasuke... she vowed to change. If her love was not enough to make him stay with her, she promised to become enough so that she could stay with him...

**__

_My first try at an angst/semi dark ridden stuff... please be kind if you decide to flame._


	2. The Morning After

**Forever Follow Behind, No More**

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto, and if you think I do, well… that's your problem… Manga spoilers...

**Summary: **Sasuke's absence from leaf sets off alarms, Hinata and Lee bond a little before circumstances turn for the worst.

**Notes: **So sorry for the big-ass delay in an update, forgive me please!!

**Chapter 2:**The Morning After

Kakashi arrived on scene with a poof of smoke. He looked around and tried to find the Jounin in charge. After the urgent phone call informing him about Sakura's condition, he had quickly risen from bed, put on a jacket, and left for the park.

He grabbed the closest person (Iwashi Kaname, a seasoned Chunnin) and pulled them aside. "Iwashi, who's the appointed Jounin in charge of the scene?"

"Oh, Kakashi-senpai, there you are. Umm, Anko-san was on patrol last night, so she in charge right now. I think she went deeper into the forest, toward the Enishi district. She said something about following up on a lead."

Kakashi's mind raced with details. Enishi district was where Sasuke's apartment resided... "And what about the girl? What about Sakura?"

"Haruno Sakura? The last I saw, she's was being treated by the medical teams. I was ordered to check the perimeter before I could hear the diagnosis. Sorry, Kakashi-senpai."

"Don't be," Kakashi said, "Sorry for disturbing you Iwashi, back to your post."

Kakashi quickly strode into the forest. Sure enough, as he drew close to Sasuke's house, he found Anko and two others inspecting the remains of what looked like a battle scene. What surprised him were the two others present, Souichirou Yukino and Aburame Mireille, Anbu and Hunter-nin Heads, respectively.

Anko was inspecting the destroyed bark of a tree, while Yukino and Mireille were inspecting some sort of webbing attached elsewhere.

"Kakashi-kun, you're finally--" she looked him up and down appraisingly before bursting out in laughter. "I know we told you it's urgent, but you could have changed first."

He scowled at her. "Do you have a problem with what I'm wearing?"

"No, I don't. But who knew you like wearing cute bunny rabbit pajamas. Gai would love to hear--"

"Anko," he said, his expression deadpan. "I answered your call because it was something that concerned my team. Now tell me, what happened to Sakura?"

Anko sobered up, the laughter fit already purged from her system. "Sakura was found earlier this morning on a park bench. She was conscious, but only by little. When she was found, she couldn't speak a single word. Before we could cart her off to the hospital, she managed to finagle a pen and paper from someone and wrote down this before passing out again. The medical team said she has a slight trauma from her spinal cord, but no permanent damage. But you have to see what she wrote down. " Anko reached into her side pack, drew out a folded scrap of paper, and unfolded it.

Written in big, messy letters was. **_'SASUKE GONE'_**

Anko slipped the paper back into her pack. "The medical team assumed it was a kidnapping so I was called in. After I confirmed his disappearance, I notified all the proper channels," she pointed toward Yukino and Mireille. "They arrived a little afterward."

Kakashi inwardly noted Anko's choice of words: _'disappearance'_ instead of more sure words like _'kidnapping'_ or _'desertion'._ Seems like no one knew the exact reason behind Sasuke disappearance. But never the less, not only were the Anbu called in, but so were the Hunter-nin...

Kakashi looked at Anko hesitantly, "So what's the verdict," he said, his voice a little hoarse. "Which team is getting to be sent out-- an Anbu Rescue Squad or a Hunter-nin assassination team?"

"Don't know, Kakashi-kun. I honestly don't know. The two aren't compromising at all today. Yukino thinks that the Uchiha Sasuke is too valuable to waste and thinks he should be folded back into Leaf's ranks. And Mireille saids, _"One rouge Uchiha is enough, but two? We need to put an end to their line now. The sooner the better." _Right now, it could go either way."

"And what about you, Anko? What do you think is going to happen?"

Anko scrutinized him, her eyes as cutting and bright as a gleaming knife. "What do I think is going to happen? Or what do I think _should _happen?"

"Both."

She glanced away, unable to meet his gaze. "Here let me show you something." She led him up a tree directly across from Sasuke's balcony. She then pointed at the indentation markings on its bark. "See how the indents are stratified vertically? This is definitely Sakon's work. As her voice gets higher and higher so does the frequency in her voice, making her indentations smaller but deeper. And see the webbing? It's Kidoumaru. I recognize his jutsu's anywhere." 

Kakashi's voice seemed to catch in his throat. "That means Sasuke is with--"

"That's right. Sasuke is now with the Sound's elite. And regardless if he's with them by consent or by force, if they are doing the things to himthat they did to me... it'd be better for _his_ sake and _ours_ if a Hunter-nin team is sent right away."

**

Hinata sat up from her bed and rubbed her eyes tirelessly with one hand and slapped the snooze button on her buzzing alarm clock with the other. She glanced at it and through her bleary vision. She could make out the time of 5:3—something; the last number was much too fuzzy to make out.

She fell back onto her bed and covered her face with a pillow. Training could wait for a more appropriate time-- like noon.

Before she could fall back asleep, her door opened with a creak and a kindly old lady walked in. "Good Morning, dear! Aren't you supposed to be training right now?"

"But granny," she croaked from under her pillow, "it's 5:30 in the morning--"

"The ideal training time if you ask me. You have it lucky. I remember when I was a genin, I had to wake up 4:30 sharp every morning for my team training because if you were late--"

"--your sensei and your team would use you as a human test dummy for kunai and shuriken throwing techniques. And if I want to be a proper ninja I have to wake up early and train as hard as you." Hinata finished. She sat up and threw off the pillow. "You've made your point, granny. I'm up now."

"I knew you'd see it my way, dear." She smiled warmly at Hinata. "You hurry up and take your shower, while I fetch your clothes from the line. I accidentally left them up last night, they have to be dry by now..."

Hinata swung her feet out of bed, slipped on her fuzzy white bear slippers and staggered to the bathroom. Still nearly half asleep, Hinata went through the motions of her daily morning routine; lavatory duties, brushing the teeth, hot shower, change of clothes (granny left them on her bed), and for breakfast, she had freshly squeezed orange juice and a cold, strawberry pop tart.

On the way out, she saw Hanabi training with father in the main room. Not really wanting to hear their near-daily insults of being a failure and a weakling, she quietly tiptoed to the front door.

And as she walked by, she couldn't help but notice her father and sister's focused faces. They looked so absorbed in battle; she briefly believed they didn't notice her walk out. But after taking three paces away from the house, it hit her-- they had to have noticed her. What kind of Byukagan users, Ninja's even, would they be if they didn't notice someone sneaking behind them? Not very good ones that was for sure, and she definitely knew her father and sister weren't second-class any things. Then she realized, they did notice her, but they just didn't care to acknowledge her presence.

Hinata shrugged off the thought, instead looking on the brighter side of things. At least her younger sister and father weren't putting her down for being a disgrace and failure to the Hyuga name anymore-- from being insulted to not-being-insulted… that had to be sign they were starting to respect her. Maybe.

The sun rose steadily over the east hills, slowly basking Leaf Village in its warm orange glow. Hinata just knew today was going to be a beautiful day; the weather was especially perfect for bird watching. And at this time of the year, more species of birds would be out and about than usual.

Hinata sighed to herself. Leisure activities could be put off for next time; training waits for nobody.

Turning around a corner, she was surprised to find her regular training spot already occupied by a young boy with a bowl cut. He was sprawled over the ground; his leg bandages in tatters and his knuckles caked with dirt and blood.

She ran over and knelt by his side. "Lee-san? Can you hear me?"

"Urgh..." he groaned. His eyelids slowly opened until he was looking up at her through narrow slits. "Er... Neji? No, can't be... Hinata-san? Is that you?"

"Yes, it's me. I was coming to train when I found you knocked out." She looked at him urgently. "Tell me what happened. Did someone attack you?"

He shook his head. "No, no one attacked me."

"Thank god for that." She said, relieved. "So what happened then?"

"I was training like I used to, but-- well..." he tore his eyes away from hers. Was he ashamed? His voice wobbled softly as he spoke. "My-My body was too weak to handle my old training regiment. I-I-I wasn't even doing my old regiment; it was more like a tenth of it. I thought that maybe if I started out small, then I could eventually work my way up to what I used to be... but I couldn't even handle that. The way I look at it now, Academy Students can beat me..."

Hinata looked up not knowing what to say to this poor boy; this poor, _crippled_ boy. What words could she say to console him without patronizing him at the same time?  '_Don't worry, everything will be okay'?_ Completely out of the question. That was the most patronizing thing, someone could ever say. But what could she do to help? Then she decided if she couldn't help him with words, then she'd help with his wounds.   

"Um, Lee-san, I think you might have dislocated your shoulder. I'm going to pop it back into place. So you know, it might sting just a little."

"Do it quick, Hinata-san. As if you were pulling off a band-aid..."

She tried to recall the mission Team #6 had in Earth Country. They had to climb up a stone cliff to collect some special medical herbs, but then Kiba-kun had taken nasty spill down the side of the rock face because he tried to show-off by climbing with only one hand. Because he had a dislocated shoulder, Kurenai-sensei took the opportunity to give the team a quick lesson on properly popping in dislocated joints.

Hinata placed her hands in what were hopefully the correct spots and then-- the joint looked like it had been properly realigned...

"T-Thank you, Hinata-san. Don't worry, it didn't sting too much." He reassured, after noticing the concern in Hinata eyes. The earlier pity in his voice seemed to have disappeared.  "It felt almost like a needle-shot, over before you can feel anything. Umm, Hinata-san, can you help me up? I need to start my training again--"

"No, Lee-san, no more training for you. At least not for today, okay?"

"But--"

"But nothing." She said firmly. "You're in no condition to do anymore training. You're left shoulder was displaced, you're leg and right arm is still broken, not to mention the gashes on your left hand are probably infected." She reached into her pouch, pulled out a small cask, and unscrewed the top. "Here... it's something I put together with herbs from my garden; it'll disinfect and soothe your wound, then clot it."

She grasped Lee's injured hand and gently spread the olive green cream over his gashes. As her fingertips gently graze over his arm, she was taken aback by how rough his skin was. His hands were the feel of a father's hand: coarse and calloused. A hand worn down over time by hard work and toil. Lee was only 14, how hard he must work if his hands felt older than her own father's.

After spreading the cream over his last gash, she rescrewed the cap, and stored the cask into her pouch.

"Feeling better, Lee-san?"

He smiled at her. "Much better. Thank--" Lee's face suddenly screwed up in pain and his entire body became stiff. His eyes snap shut, his breath stopped, and the blood drained from his face. He was so pale, he looked almost... dead.

"Lee-san? What's wrong?" she shook him when he didn't answer. Nothing. Still no reponse. "Lee-san!?" She frantically looked around for help, but found none; not even a person who could run and alert the medical teams.

"Somebody! Anybody! Help!" she screamed.

No one answered. Hinata's hysteria grew with every passing second. A million or so different options flooded her mind. What could she do? Did she dare leave him in this condition? But what if his condition worsened? Did she have any chance to save him by staying here?

Thinking there was something she could do, she activated her Byukagan and scanned over Lee's limp form. All his inner coils appeared and then she noted something very peculiar. The inner coils below his right and left shoulder blades were clogged. She knew how an inner coil looked when it was jammed with chakra-- and this wasn't it. Lee's coils looked completely different. But different how, she did not know. 

"Hey!" a voice (Lee's teammate, TenTen) called out, gaining her attention. "Hey, I'm talking to you! What the hell happened to Lee?"

"I-I-I dunno! He was fine one second and then the next he's like-like," she indicated to his body frantically. "Like this! Please get some help, I think he's dieing!!"

**

**_*how did everyone like it? If you like it-- review. Don't like it-- leave some constructive criticisms. Anyhow I apologize again for the long gap between…_**_*_

**KawaiiKenshin: **Despite my long school-induced absence, I hope you still read and enjoy my fics. **X-Cry-Death: **I didn't write soon, but I did write again. Hurrah, for that, right? **Vivian:** Well, it's fits with the manga, but doesn't really follow, does that make any sense? **Evil-sly-queen:** Thanks, hope you still read my fics. **Miya:** Thank you so much. **Bloodstain1**: I am going to continue it, :p.


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